Thread: what can you tell me about this razor

hi everyone, i am a newbie from south louisiana and i won this razor on ebay for $18. this is going to be my first straight and i was just wondering if it could be made into a good shaver or if i got burnt. here is the description from the seller.

oh and thanks in advance for any help and advice.

seth

"A very nice old SALAMANDER WORKS GERMAN STRAIGHT EDGE RAZOR. Note graphics on both the handle and the tang. The blade is .5" wide, would need some honing if you plan to shave with it. The handles look like celluloid to me, lovely brown and black. I see no damage. I don't know if the box is original, perhaps Bauer, in San Francisco, was the dealer? The blade seats perfectly, no wiggles. "

Welcome to SRP. Looks decent to me from the photos. A bit of hone wear but not bad. You should send it out to a honemeister for pro honing. You can find a member who performs that service for a nominal fee here in member services. Check out the SRP Wiki beginner's guide here if you haven't already.

From the pics, I'd say you did pretty good on your Ebay purchase as a newbie.

Generally it's recommended that newbies avoid Ebay for awhile, as it can take awhile to develop an eye for good and bad razors there.

I've got a Shumate that came in a Salamander box...lol...that's all I can tell you about your razor. Looks like a nice catch.

Welcome to SRP! For a first razor it looks like you did ok. Not in great shape but you did't pay a lot for it. While eBay is a great place to get a razor if you really know what you are looking of as far as defects, it is also a great place to get stuck with junk. I suggest you do a lot of research here and look through the classified section for straights and honing services until you have an understanding of what to look for. Jimmy's suggestion of reading through the WIKI on the menu bar above is a good place to start.